Sorry, not a large chapter today. Real Life got in the way these last few day, but still... Kevin learns more....

Driving Mr Wandell 15/?

Warning: This is Alternative Universe-story. If you can't stand to see Kevin/Scotty/Others in situations that are Out Of Character, stay away and don't whine to me about it.By Marea67 About: Mainly Kevin/Scotty Rate: Depending on the chapter - This one: G Disclaimer: Brothers & Sister belongs to ABC, but thanks to this AU Kevin/Scotty can at least kiss. Summary: walkersfics wondered: "How come even in AUs Kevin is always the one saving Scotty?" And though she has her own great storyline for that, it sure made me think: “What if….?”

***** A FEW DAYS LATER*****

“Hi, can I come in?” Wally asks. “Yes, of course.” Scotty answers, opening the door to let his father in. “Is Kevin here?”

“He moved in with you?” “Dad, in all he has three suitcases and a few bags… It’s not that much.” Wally doesn’t answer, but sees how Kevin had placed all his belongings on the bed. He has to agree with his son. It isn’t much.

“Mr Wandell.” Kevin greets, surprised to see Wally. “You have to start calling me Wally.” Kevin smiles apologetically, he just isn’t ready for that yet.

“Kevin, can we talk?” “Yes, sure.” Kevin gives Scotty a worried look, but Scotty shrugs that he has no idea what is going on.

“I’ve read your father’s will and watched the tape. Then I handed it all over to the legal department…. Their conclusion is the same as mine, and as yours and Scotty’s. It has no escape clauses, it’s exactly what it appears to be. A will, drawn up by your father, that divides his properties as he saw fit and where you are the biggest beneficiary.”

He can Kevin see gasp is shock. “So.. there’s no way they can fight this will?” “No. Unless your brother and sister contest the will and declare that he was insane when he made that will, but upon seeing the tape…. They’ll never get away with it.”

Wally sees the panic in Kevin’s eyes. “What do I do now?” Kevin asks. He looks from the father to the son and Scotty bites his lip, not immediately sure what to say. Somehow he couldn’t imagine that Kevin and he had been wrong to begin with, but he had agreed with Kevin that it all seemed so unlikely.

Now, he has to answer the question, he couldn’t answer before either. “I’ve been thinking about this, after Scotty had told me more about the hang ups you have with your father’s decision. According to Scotty, you’re worried about the consequences for your family?”

Kevin nods silently and Wally takes a deep breath. “ You don’t like your brother and sister, but you aware that they know their business…. Right?” “Yes, they do. They grew up in the company… Dad thought them everything he knew. They may be awful, but they are also experts.”

“And you’re worried about their financial situation and that of your mother, other sister and younger brother…?” “Yes, I am. Especially for my mom and sister. Plus, if I sell, a lot of people who’ve worked very long for my dad, will be fired.”

“And you don’t want that either?” Wally is surprised by the strange sense of loyalty that Kevin show. He’s intrigued by how well Kevin keeps emotion and rational apart.

“No. Some of these people have been loyal to my dad, my family, our company… Whatever gripes I had with my dad, it wasn’t THEIR fault and I don’t want them to pay the prize.” Wally can see the reason behind Kevin’s ideas. In fact, he likes Kevin more and more.

“I understand you’ve even received an offer for everything?” “My father’s biggest competitor in the field offered me a truckload of money, if I’d sell everything to him…. But I think he’ll want to destroy the Walker and Ojai name… I don’t want that to happen either.”

Wally clears his throat and asks carefully: “Can I ask you what he offered you? And for what is he willing to pay?” Kevin gets up and searches on Scotty’s desk for the paperwork that was sent to him the day after Christmas.

“The offer stands until January first.” Kevin says, handing it all over to Wally, who quickly browses through the papers and who slowly shakes his head. “No. No! Under no circumstance should you hand over the company to this man. He’s robbing you. This is not an offer, but an insult!”

“You know all those seemingly unimportant bits of land your father bought over the last 40 years? The ones you inherited? Well, I checked out where they were and I found out something interesting… I’ve marked the pieces of land with a marker… They all seem disconnected because they were randomly bought over a period of 40 years

However, if you add all the pieces together on the map…” Wally places a map of the Ojai-Valley in front of Kevin, on the table, and unfolds it to show a rather large yellow stain, slightly off-centre to the map. “This, all that is yellow, belongs to you.”

“Too bad that there’s a part missing in the middle…” Kevin points out, stunned and unsure what to do with the information. “Ha! That’s what I thought. So, I tried to find out who owns the missing part and guess what I found out?” Wally challenges.

Kevin looks at him in bewilderment, but then shakes his head. He can’t think of anything. “Your father never had to buy that piece, because he had inherited it through his mother, your grandmother.” Wally waits a few seconds to let Kevin catch his breath. “But that is not all…”

“There’s more?” Kevin squeaks. Wally nods. “Robert McCallister knows a lot of people in the valley and he put me in contact with Holly Harper, one of the wine-makers in the area and she had quite some interesting news as well…

She’s been in the wine business for nearly 35 years, so she knows her business. According to her, the grapes that are grown on these lands are highly recommended and make excellent wine. She’d be most interested in talking to you about all this….” “But how could dad do this without anyone noticing?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve taken the liberty to speak to your mother and… let’s face it, financially speaking she’s a cow. She has no clue what your father did. Your father was one clever devil. He owned another company next to Ojai Foods and never said a word about it to anyone.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Kevin says. “You can’t hide a company! And what about taxes? … Of course, that’s it! If I take over, I’ll get the IRS on my back?!” “No.” Wally shakes his head. “The company never missed a year.” “But…. There should have been … mail, leaflets, prospectuses, offers?”

“I did mention the original land that belonged to your grandmother? It has an old house on it. All mail regarding your father’s other company got sent there.” “What… is the name of that company?” “San Estephe Wineries.”

Wally sees Kevin swallows hard and then his face becomes softer. “Steven. It was the name of my father’s brother. My uncle. I never knew him. He disappeared in Vietnam. They never found his body. My father believed for the longest time that his brother wasn’t dead… That one day he’d be home again.”

“That answers a question I had.” Wally says quietly. “My guess is that he created the other company for his brother, so that Steven would have had something to come back to. Until two months ago, Steven Walker, was the only heir to the company. Your father changed that, not long after he found out he had cancer….”

Kevin’s head is spinning. “So… my father didn’t only leave me Ojai Foods, he also left me San Estephe Wineries? I’m about to own not one, but two companies? In God’s name… Why?!” “I can’t answer that. Guilt? Disillusion? The realization he couldn’t take his money with him?”

“Kevin? What will you do now?” Scotty asks. “I’m clueless. I need to think it over. There’s an entire part of my father’s life that none of us, not my mom, my siblings or I, ever knew about. There’s a dedication to his brother that I never knew existed.... I’m shaken up. I need a bit of time…” Kevin replies.